Trust me I am an editorPaul Prinsloo, Editor: Progressio & Research Professor in Open Distance Learning, Unisa

How do we talk about ethics, integrity and trust, in a time when…

• Efficiency – doing more with less. Funding follows performance rather than precedes it” (p. 414)

• Quantification & calculability

• Control, “fake fraternisation” and rituals of togetherness (Ritzer, 1993)

Hartley, D. (1995). The ‘McDonaldisation’ of higher education: food for thought? Oxford Review of Education, 21(4), 409-423.

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Source: http://www.richard-hall.org/2014/03/05/on-academic-labour-and-performance-anxiety/

Source: http://musicfordeckchairs.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/walking-and-learning/

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2014/mar/06/mental-health-academics-growing-problem-pressure-university

So. How do we talk about ethics, integrity and

trust when?

• My working context is increasing characterised by mistrust, pain and never being good enough?

• Shortcuts and who you know is the name of the game

• We applaud quantity and forget to ask what the citations mean

• We forget that editors are pawns and players in a warped game where CTRL & ALT & DEL only start the game afresh…

We cannot talk about ethics, integrity and trust in research without considering…

Macro context shaping research•Broader discourses of publish or perish (or increasingly publish and perish)•The politics and practices of rankings, citations•Discourses on intellectual property rights and open scholarship

Micro context shaping research•Changing academic identities•Teaching versus research•Performance contracts•Promotion criteria

The role, rewards and penalties of being an editor

Overview of the presentation• Some disclaimers

• Images and metaphors of editors

• My own context: Some statistics re Progressio

• The context of being an editor

• Becoming an editor

• Being an editor

• Truth, ethics, and integrity…

• What I personally find difficult…

• (Dis)trusting an editor - issues

Disclaimers

• I am not speaking on behalf of all editors or all journals

• I am speaking as editor of Progressio, South African Journal for Open and Distance Learning Practice, appointed since March 2013

Images and metaphors

http://openclipart.org/image/300px/svg_to_png/183011/WANTED%20POSTER.png

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Saint_Peter_the_Aleut.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Pest-Aids-Projekt.jpg

If your article is accepted the editor is a…

If your article is rejected you want the editor …

If you must revise and rework the article, the editor and reviewers are ….

My own context: Some statistics re Progressio

• Small but only South African journal dedicated to open, distance and e-learning practice

• Accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training since 2011

• 2 issues per year (± 28 articles) plus a special issue• Print run of 500 copies, articles on SABINET after a period

of 3 months• During 2013 received 100 articles for review, rejection rate

of about 40%• Required ratio of 51% outside of Unisa:49% Unisa authors

Becoming an editor…

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs33/i/2012/056/6/6/werewolf_by_jinkies36-d1l24xh.jpg

Parker, M. (2004). Becoming manager: Or, the werewolf looks anxiously in the mirror, checking for unusual facial hair. Management Learning, 35, 45-59.

Very little research on becoming and being an editor… [Freda, M.C., & Nicoll, L.H. (2011). The Editor’s Handbook: An Online Resource and CE Course. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins]

Being an editor: What do editors find difficult?(e.g., Gladding, 1982 – note the

date…)• Time to be an editor and meet other

professional duties (8-12 hours per week)

• Finding journal space for quality articles

• Managing correspondence

• Meeting publication deadlines

• Sending letters of rejection

• Selecting appropriate reviewers

Becoming an editor: walking in a minefield…

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Factors impacting on the truth, ethics, and integrity of the editorial process

• The editor chooses the reviewers

• The quality and appropriateness of reviewers

• Reviewers often accept to do reviews for which they are not qualified

• Time allowed for the review process

• Negotiating conflicting reviews

• Absent editorial boards

• Lacking institutional support

What do I find difficult/daunting?

• The prescribed ratio of 51% of authors outside of Unisa:49% authors inside of Unisa

• Time - correspondence and administration• The quality of the articles and the stature of

Progressio…• Picking up the pieces, developing systems• (Re)developing trust• Following up on reviews• Balancing contradicting reviews

Factors that could increase trust between editors and authors…

• Regular communication• Transparency• Quality and overview of the editorial

board/committee• Quality of the reviewers• Format of the review – level of detail• Reviewing the reviewer• Turnitin and quality measures• Image of the journal

We cannot talk about ethics, integrity and trust in research without considering…

Macro context shaping research•Broader discourses of publish or perish (or increasingly publish and perish)•The politics and practices of rankings, citations•Discourses on intellectual property rights and open scholarship

Micro context shaping research•Changing academic identities•Teaching versus research•Performance contracts•Promotion criteria

The role, rewards and penalties of being an editor

Do you trust the editor?

http://openclipart.org/image/300px/svg_to_png/183011/WANTED%20POSTER.png

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Saint_Peter_the_Aleut.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Pest-Aids-Projekt.jpg

Paul PrinslooEditor: Progressio, South African Journal for Open and Distance Learning Practice & Research Professor in Open Distance Learning (ODL),College of Economic and Management SciencesOffice number 3-15, Club 1, HazelwoodP O Box 392Unisa, 0003, Republic of South Africa+27 (0) 12 433 4719 (office)+27 (0) 82 3954 113 (mobile)

Skype: paul.prinsloo59Personal blog: http://opendistanceteachingandlearning.wordpress.comTwitter profile: @14prinsp

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.